EDP Charged With Attempted Murder Of Police Sergeant

By Howard Schwach

A deranged Far Rockaway man was charged on Friday with attempted murder of a police officer after he stabbed a police sergeant in the eye and the chest with a kitchen knife.

The house at 24-50 Collier Avenue in Far Rockaway, where an emotionally disturbed man stabbed NYPD Sergeant Timothy Smith. Police say that they were called to 24-50 Collier Avenue at about 6:13 p.m. on January 15 to investigate a 911 call from family members of an emotionally disturbed person (EDP) with a knife at that location.

When the officers arrived, they found Neil Perreira, 32, cutting vegetables at the kitchen table.

As soon as Perreira saw the police, sources say, he fled to a bedroom at the back of the house.

More police arrived at the scene, and Sergeant Timothy Smith knocked at the bedroom door.

According to court records, Perreira suddenly opened the door with the knife in his hand and stabbed Smith in the eye.

He then allegedly injured two other police officers, Daniel Sjoberg and Edward Simon, in a scuffle to get the knife from the deranged man.

Police sources say that Perreira was the subject of no fewer than 10 EDP calls over the past eight years. He was arrested seven times, often setting fires. Once, police say, he turned on the gas and threatened to blow up everybody in the house.

Smith was first transported to Jamaica Hospital, but was later transferred to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, where surgeons worked to clear his brain of blood.

The sergeant, who is married but has no children, was expected to lose the use of one eye as a result of the attack.

The two other injured officers were taken to Jamaica Hospital, where they were treated and released.

A spokesperson for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said that Perreira has been charged with attempted aggravated murder, first degree attempted murder, three counts of assaulting a police officer and criminal possession of a weapon.

If convicted of all charges, he faces 25 years in prison. Perreira was taken to St. John's Episcopal Hospital for psychiatric evaluation, where he was arraigned and reportedly remains at press time.